Factors Impacting Urinalysis Results

Urinalysis results can provide valuable insight into the health of an animal. Here are some tips to get the most accurate results for a sample.

  1. Testing non-preserved urine as soon as possible is ideal to prevent erroneous or misleading
  2. Urine that has been held at room temperature or for extended periods of time prior to testing can cause the following urinalysis changes:

  1. Transport >10 mL of urine to lab at refrigerated
  2. A sample that has been held in the refrigerator causes amorphous phosphate and urates to precipitate out in the sample. This can also interfere with the clarity of the sample.
  3. Refrigerated samples can also have a falsely elevated specific gravity when determined by hydrometer
  4. The longer an unpreserved sample is held before setting up a culture, the less useful the

References:

Mahon, C., & Lehman, D. (2019). Textbook of Diagnostic Microbiology (6th ed.). Saunders Elsevier. Strasinger, S. K., & Schaub, D. L. M. (2001). Urinalysis and Body Fluids (4th ed.). F.A. Davis Company.

View a printable version here.

Revised 01-2023